Hook's Greatest Adventure
by Belladonna Wynter
Summary: Hook/OC Anne arrives in Neverland and throws a wrench into Captain Hook's plans.
1. Chapter 1

She was in Neverland.

Anne didn't know how she got there. She had woken up in the middle of a beautiful field of wild flowers with tall climbable trees on the borders. She'd been there many times in her dreams, but this was the first time she'd ever been in Neverland while she was awake. Anne had already pinched herself several times and put her hand in the cold brook that was running nearby before she finally began to accept the fact that she was in the land of her dreams.

Taking advantage of the fantasy, Anne lifted up her arms and jumped into the air to fly. But the next moment gravity pulled her back down and she tumbled in the soft growth. Confused she righted herself and tried again, but with no luck. Apparently when you're corporeal, you can't fly. Not even in Neverland. At least, not without a little help.

Anne looked around for some faeries to gather dust from, but there were none about. This was getting more and more strange. Her own faerie had died before Anne's memory, but there were always a few flittering about nearby. In fact, the faeries were the most likely reason Anne was in Neverland in the first place. There was no other explanation for it. She had never met Peter Pan (although she'd heard many stories about him from Barry's novel), or anyone else who might have the power to cross the barrier between the worlds. But she had at least seen faeries; every once in a while she would see one in the real world, maybe flying by a window or sitting on a teacup in a cupboard. She was certain the faeries were responsible for bringing her here, but why? And if they did bring her then why weren't they with her now? Faeries were strange and mischievous to be sure, but something wasn't adding up, although Anne had no idea what it was.

Deciding to take advantage of the experience of being able to literally live out her fantasy, Anne started exploring the familiar terrain, looking for anything different that might direct her first real adventure.

Captain James T. Hook was in high dudgeon this morning.

No matter how many times he studied his previous battles, or planned his next maneuver, he simply couldn't plan out a strategy which Peter Pan hadn't already decimated. It was finally beginning to dawn on the unscrupulous captain that he might be forever doomed to clash against Pan without either side ever gaining an edge, and he wasn't taking it very well. Smee was doing his level headed best to calm the frustrated figurehead, puttering around the cabin, grabbing various knickknacks to calm his idolized leader, but today he couldn't even get him to lower his voice ten decibels or eat his breakfast. Smee was growing ever more worried about Hook. The captain had begun to lose weight and was becoming even more gaunt with want of nutrition and rest, and yesterday's shenanigans were hardly conducive to a proper night's sleep. The pirates had suffered a terrible loss, the latest in a growing losing streak. All poor Smee could do was pat the down and out captain on the arm and try to assure him that the men will definitely win the next time.

"That's it, Smee!" Hook cried out in what must have been a delirium brought on by the stress. "We have lost as many battles as we can possibly lose without winning once. Surely, the odds are we will have him next time!" He began to laugh manically as he gleefully grabbed a piece of parchment and sat down to hatch out his next plan. He had started to run low on creativity lately because of the manic shift into depression, but now that all his delusions of failure had passed, he began plotting out some extra horrible tortures on the margins of the master scheme he'd been saving for a very special occasion. Now that victory was imminent, it seemed to be a very special occasion indeed.

With that simple though fallacious, chain of reasoning, it seemed Christmas had come early to the Jolly Roger. Hook was less demanding and in better humor than he'd been in for years, although this was only comparative; he still worked his men to the bone, but at least they no longer had to worry about being keelhauled for picking their noses or hung by their toes for not wiping their noses after sneezing. And not only were grog rations reinstated, they were increased!

Indeed, the prospect of a grand victory seemed to be very bright as they manned the longboats to go onto the shore in search of Peter Pan's hideout.

*Later that evening*

Anne plopped down unceremoniously in the middle of the forest on the edge of a sandy riverbed. Or at least what she guessed to be the middle of the forest. She had long ago given up trying to keep track of where she had trekked; the trees just seemed to spread on forever in a sea of spreading oaks, towering redwoods and cypresses, flowering cherries (even though Anne was sure it was mid-summer) and silver ashes. For all that she'd heard Neverland was actually quite small and crammed, the only thing crammed was the sheer amount of foliage which (to her mind) went on forever. She'd wandered all day without spotting another living soul and she was starting to get worried. Sure, she had loved the solitude in her Neverland, having only rarely experienced it in real world, but in the actual fairy world it just seemed desolate. Even in her fantasy, she knew intuitively that there had always been *someone* nearby on the off chance she got lonely. She had tried all the usual places, but to no avail. There were no fairies in the trees . There had been birds calling to each other, foxes shyly hiding in their holes, bears dozing in their caves but no one Anne could talk to or to explain to her why she was suddenly in Neverland.

So it was more than a little relief when she heard the pirates rambling her way, singing a landing shanty.

Rape, murder, pillage and maim, oh my!

As they continued unerringly toward her, Anne began to get a little frightened for the first time in Neverland. They say that although Neverland is marvelously full of excitement and adventure in the daytime, after sundown the adventures turn into horror stories, full of ghosts, monsters and all sorts of other scary things. That is why children who visit have nightlights. As she was no longer a child, Anne of course did not have a nightlight, but she was very much wishing for one all the same, even though it wasn't quite sunset yet. Even so, she shied away into the shadows as the pirates came into the clearing the river cut through the forest, where the rough sound of unknown, robust men's voices unnerved her. They had arrived quite suddenly and were moving surprisingly fast considering they hadn't been on land long enough to get rid of their sea legs. She search the clearing for a good tree to hide behind (there was no time to climb high enough to get out of view), but there were already so many pirates swarming about the area that whatever tree she choose was bound to put her in view of another. Always adaptable, Anne shifted her strategy to accommodate her options. If she were to be found, she'd be found on her own terms. Neverland is famous for its adventure and opportunities; it goes without saying that it is chock a block full of opportune moments. Hoping she wouldn't be discovered too soon she retreated back into the tree line in a still darkened and quiet grove, waiting for her opportune moment to present itself.

The crew of the Jolly Roger had struck out for Pan's lair as soon as Captain Hook had decided on a plan of attack. Nobody knew what it was yet, as their narcissistic leader had not deigned to let them in on the marvelous revenge he had planned for his archenemy. Not even Smee knew what was going to happen when they got there. It was rather a moot point as they still had no idea where the hideout was, but with the renewed vigor of their captain (and consequently, the punishments he dealt) they were more determined than ever to find Peter Pan's home base. The newfound resolve lengthened their stride and sped their steps, heading straight for Anne.

"Stop! Stop you vile display of rancid flatulence! This might be the place we've been looking for!" the big-hatted captain called to his men.

"But captain, how do you know? The boy we captured this morning said to look by the 3 trees that look like a hawk." one unfortunate crew member questioned.

"Of course he would say that you vomitous mass of offal; he would send us as far away from Pan's hiding place as possible to keep us from catching anyone else. That's why we're looking in the direct opposite direction. Now search you dogs!"

The band of no-gooders took the opportunity to stop at the bank Anne had just been resting on, searching the nearby trees for signs of hollowing which might lead to the Lost Boy's lair. They began to fan out as the pirates tapped more and more trees for echoes.

With the pirates fast approaching, Anne knew her moment had come. Now she just had to think of what to do. Too late, a hulking deck swab was within view. Before she could help herself, Anne gave an involuntary yelp as she ducked around another tree.

"What was that?" the captain called.

"I dunno captain, but it came from around there." Starkey motioned towards a tree far away from Anne, in the opposite direction.

'Thank god for stupid pirates.' Anne thought to herself. Sensing this to be her chance, she dodged around another tree and called out again, using the displaced sound to add to the confusion and give her a chance to get a little further away. 'Baby steps Anne, think baby steps.'

Hook had played the harpsichord for many years, his hearing and voice pitch perfect. "You idiots, it came from the other way!" . He knew his men were less than perceptive, although it's not completely their fault as they're the ones standing right next to the ship's cannons as their being fired. Even so, he felt a slight bruising of his pride when he had to play the hound and lead the men to the source of the sound. It came again, this time 30 yards to the left. He led on and thought he was drawing closer until….

Anne was beginning to panic now, hearing the men trample their way ever closer, with her options for hiding were decreasing as they began to encircle her. But she wasn't caught yet. She made a dash to the left and let out another call.

James Hook was a captain, not a hunter, and this cat and mouse game was beginning to wear on him. Not only that, but the sound was loud and eerie, and seemed to come from right in front of him. "Confound it all, what is that sound? We're looking for Peter Pan, not some spirit of the woods!" the captain regretted mentioning the supernatural when his men stopped dead in their tracks. Pirates were nothing if not superstitious, and the suggestion that they were chasing something not of this world unnerved them. He himself had had less than hospitable encounters with the unexplainable, and it was not something he particularly relished having to relive. Growing impatient with the sudden fear that had suddenly become as tangible as a knife, he tried appealing to the spirit. He knew from the stories that the only way to get out of the forest safely was to reason with it. Besides, his boots were getting dirty traipsing through the untrodden parts of the wood. All he wanted was to capture Pan and get back on his ship.

"Spirit of the wood, will you let us pass?"

By some bizarre twist of fate, Anne realized she had gained the upper hand. But again, she wasn't quite sure how to make the most of it. All she wanted was to get out of the woods and talk to someone rational. But before she could do that, she would have to dupe the men that were edging in on her. The captain himself seemed to be just on the other side of her tree, not 20 feet away. She called out in her loudest voice

"Stay back! You tread upon sacred ground!"

It sounded good to her, but would it work for the pirates?

Immediately the crew drew back 8 feet. All expect Hook who had retreated a mere 3 feet, more to keep the loud voice from screaming in his ear than out of terror.

"I apologize, oh mighty spirit. If you will but let us leave unharmed, we will be on our way and swear to never return. ."

'Oh Anne, you clever girl!' She thought to herself. She relaxed a bit and said in a more normal voice

"You may go. But first you must pay tribute for your trespassing. You must leave…." She thought for a moment. A pack horse with supplies would have been nice, but these were pirates, not farmers. "You must leave your sword behind as an offer of peace." At least she might have a means of defending herself if something else came upon her in the night that was slowly creeping across the sky.

Hook cocked his head to one side. He couldn't be sure, it had been so long since he'd last heard anything like it, but the voice almost sounded…. feminine. Feminine and earthly, he realized. Before the voice had been so loud it seemed to resonate all through the forest, but now that it had become quiet it was definitely originating behind the tree just 10 paces in front of him.

"Spirit of the wood, have you *another* name?" he silently motioned for his men to resume their encroaching. They were still a bit shaky, but gained confidence from their captain as he stood fully in control of the situation, conversing as if he were back on his ship discussing the best way to tie a cravat over afternoon tea.

Anne was taken aback. She had let herself relax too much and now they were on to her. She could hear the pirates creep closer as they trampled the brush, still very slowly. She began moving from tree to tree again, though now with much more caution. In an effort to buy more time, she decided to keep the conversation going. "Yes."

"Is it mineral?"

"No." Her voice was almost normal.

"Vegetable?"

"No."

They had fully encircled her.

"Animal?"

He was methodically stripping away her anonymity. In her fear, she forgot to alter her voice altogether.

"Yes."

They began to close ranks and edge even closer.

"Man?"

"Of mankind."

Just a swoop away.

"Woman?"

He had her pegged now. There would be no more conversation. This was her last chance. She only had a few precious seconds to pick her escape route.

"Yes!" she bolted

- and ran into something soft yet unyielding. Looking up Anne saw a pale gaunt face surrounded by a shock of shoulder length curly black hair with burning blue eyes.

She had run straight into Captain James Hook.


	2. Chapter 2

He had caught her, but now Captain Hook had no idea what to do with her.

He studied he for moment. She was a head shorter than him, with ash blonde hair tucked away in a bun at the nape of her neck, although a few short stands had come loose from traipsing about the woods, framing her face prettily. She had a very young looking face; she could have been anywhere from 16 to 26. She was of slighter than average build though at that moment she seemed even more waif-ish as she was shaking in his arms, which was only to be expected as she had just been captured by Captain Jas. Hook. To her credit, she had not only managed to not faint, but she was still standing on her own power. Well, mostly; the angle at which he was holding her shoulders transferred some of her weight over to him, keeping her off-balance and incapable of running away. What's more, she was looking him in the eye without abject horror. She was definitely something different.

Unfortunately, Hook had a rather one track mind; for anything that was unexplainable or deviated from the norm he knew Peter Pan must be responsible. The poor man had been obsessed for so long that he couldn't reason any other way. So when he saw this young woman, he was sure she must somehow be linked to his archenemy. As soon as the notion began to settle in his mind the captain unconsciously began to clench his strong hands that were still holding Anne's shoulders, much to her discomfort. Well, at least the one hand did. His hook was digging into her left shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood making a tiny stain on the back of her top. He had apprehended a young woman who probably knew the location of Pan's hideout. The next logical step was to get her to talk. This could be difficult if she wasn't afraid of him, yet he prided himself on his good form, which almost definitely included a certain consideration for the fairer sex. Calculating that he terrify her later if she wouldn't talk, he decided on the more affable approach to gain her trust. As he didn't know who she was, it was just possible she didn't know who Captain Hook was or that he kept to his word only in the most abstract sense.

Anne struggled against the strong grip digging into her shoulders. "Let me go!" she demanded.

He had been clamping her shoulders so hard he was afraid he left bruises and winced when he felt his hook digging into her flesh, knowing from long experience it had pierced well into the skin. Hook intuitively knew this would not be the best beginning for their new kidnapper/host - captive/guest relationship. He immediately relaxed his grip, letting her go. Anne stumbled back a couple of steps, but never stopped looking him in the eyes. She moved her shoulders a bit to make sure there had been no long term damage. Sure enough, she could feel the blood trickling down past the middle of her back, but there was no worse damage. It hurt a little, but she refused to show weakness when she was encircled by the enemy. However, she had to make sure they wouldn't be manhandling her anymore; half the crew was already blatantly undressing her with their eyes, and several had reached out to 'steady' her when she had fallen back.

Anne put her hands on her hips and did her best to look insulted and unimpressed despite her intimidating position. She kept her gaze on the cadaverous man's face, aiming her next words at him.

"I would have thought the crew of Captain James Hook to have better manners." she blustered.

The men instantly shrank back two feet and refused to look at her, as if they had suddenly turned into a bunch of very tall 5 year olds being chastised by their mother. Their captain did not possess the sense of conscience so as to be guilt tripped by his own captive, but his immense ego had been taken down a notch at the reminder of what he had become. He was not proud of his men, although he had taken much pride in the efficiency with which he could bully them into towing the line. If his men had failed, it was his own fault for not commanding them well enough. Now it was Hook's turn to pretend. He loved this game. The best way to defend against an attack on his good form was with a show of even better form. He cocked his head and smiled graciously. He sure could put it on thick.

"And I would have thought that a woman lost and alone in the wandering woods would be more grateful for an escort back to the main path."

Anne gulped nervously. Not only were they going to kidnap her, but their leader was a seasoned manipulator. Still, she had managed to throw them off balance, and she took heart from the fact. She was no novice at manipulation herself.

"As it just so happens, I was having a lovely picnic before you and your men herded me into the trees and manhandled me. I think I'm infinitely better off with the company of the vegetation rather than the beasts, thank you very much." It was partly true. She had managed to score some early cherries from some low hanging branches and stored them in her skirt pocket for later. She never got the chance to eat them though, as she had been so rudely apprehended.

"Please allow me to apologize for our earlier behavior. We meant you no harm, Miss…?"

"Anne."

"Anne…?"

"Just Anne."

Hook quirked an eyebrow at her, but he let the lack of forthcomingness slide… for now; he could interrogate he all he wanted once she was on the ship. "Had we known of your presence we never would have intruded." Hook looked around for his men to nod and murmur their ascent.

'Yeah, sure you wouldn't have.' Anne thought.

"You must allow us make retribution. Come with us to the Jolly Roger; Smee is a master chef. I believe he left some clam chowder boiling on the ship for tonight's dinner. And of course he makes the best biscuits this side of the Spanish Main." Normally, the captain was very Spartan with his praise, denoting his satisfaction with the absence of punishment rather than gushing over them, especially in public. However, he needed to at least appear to give Anne a choice, and she'd be much more likely to come along willingly if he made the 'option' appealing enough.

"And of course a cozy hammock at the end of the day." Anne found herself slightly nodding in agreement to the offer. It was certainly better than being left cold, alone, and ignorant in the woods.

Hook also found that he liked the idea of having a woman on board.

"Although hammocks can be rather drafty. You might prefer a warm bed."

Until that last part Anne had been all but ready to ask to be kidnapped, but now she gave him a critical look, raising an eyebrow and looking as if she was trying not to laugh. She knew the kind of warm bed the tall and incredibly hot leader was talking about, she wasn't the type to jump into bed with someone willy nilly. It wasn't as if she found Hook unattractive, on the contrary, she had been staring at him, and not just because he was negotiating her kidnapping; he was literally the stuff of dreams. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had been wondering how many women he must have had in his bed. But in her unusual circumstances, Anne thought the idea of her sleeping with anyone to be ridiculous.

Hook made a bid for nonchalance to remind everyone how tough he was. "Or a cold night in the brig; as you prefer." He had disliked the look on her face when he had so generously offered to share his bed. He had forgotten that women had a different perception of the world than men; he would have to be more careful if he was to gain her favor to find out where Peter Pan was hiding. To his confoundment, Anne smiled brightly, nodding her consent to the alteration of 'terms' and be taken back to the ship. He really hadn't expected the nice approach to work. These days it was only a mechanical prelude to torture in order to satisfy his good form. Maybe he had finally come across someone who would appreciate his gentlemanly behavior.

It wasn't as if they were just going to let her go if she had refused. So far death and torture had not been mentioned, and she (rightly) assumed she would be able to retain favorable treatment if she was compliant enough. As they began making the trip back to the Jolly Roger, Anne supposed that being captured by pirates was actually preferable to being stuck in the woods. She would be fed and given a (relatively) safe place to sleep that night, and there was an entire crew that had serious potential of being wrapped around her little finger.

'Yes, this is definitely better than being lost in the woods.' Anne mused as she followed the now slightly flustered captain. She knew he'd recover soon and find some way of changing the stakes in his favor, but until then she comforted herself with lascivious thoughts. It was a trick she'd picked up long ago; the best way to seem relaxed and in control is to think dirty. She still had a few cards left to play. For the duration of the walk back to the ship, Anne followed directly behind the captain and could just make out his rangy form underneath his oversized coat. 'Much better.'

Hook thought he had felt her eyes boring holes into his backside the whole walk to the long boats. Although he couldn't be entirely sure. It'd been so long since he'd been around a woman (as he was again so painfully reminded) that he didn't know if it wasn't just his own attraction making him wish it was the case. But his suspicions were bolstered when she kept tripping over the uneven parts of the forest floor. His sadistic side kicked in a little as he lead the group over the rougher terrain back to the ship, just to hear how often she would stumble. When he started to think this might not be good form he justified it as not being his fault for her to not watching where she was walking. The captain didn't have long to contemplate this new development for though it had only seemed a few moments, he suddenly realized that they were only a few minutes away from the longboats. Hook chastised himself for being so easily distracted from the task at hand. He needed her for information, not playing spin the grog bottle!

Of course Anne had been blatantly staring at the captain, but she thought she did a good job of not letting him catch on by making conversation with Bill Jukes, who had been personally assigned to keep an eye on her. Although he was completely covered head to foot in tattoos and intimidating to look at, she wondered if there might have been some other reason as to why he had been chosen out of the entire crew, so (without tearing her eyes off of Hook) she asked him.

"Because I can tolerate more than any man here."

"I-I'm sorry?"

He smiled at her. "If you were to try to run away, I'd have to hold onto you. No matter how much you might kick or struggle I wouldn't let you go. You could bite me, kick me, do anything really, and I still would not release you."

Anne stared dumbly at him before looking back at the tall captain.

Jukes continued "Long before I came here, when I was under a different captain, I…" he paused, looked at her, and thought for a moment. He didn't mind being a pirate, in fact, he enjoyed it immensely. But telling the pretty lady walking beside him that he was a thief made him (probably for the first time in his life) blush from shame, even though his occupation was already quite obvious to her. "I came into the possession of some loot we had recently pillaged from a nearby settlement. I was caught and ordered 12 lashes. But I refused to give up where I'd hidden the loot. They gave me another 12, and another, but I still held strong. As long as I didn't talk, I knew I'd somehow get out of there with the gold. But after 60 I started to break. Finally, I gave in at 72." he slowed his walk as he remembered the event "I was half-dead when they untied me."

Here, Anne forgot about Hook and gave him her full attention. "How did you survive?" Anne asked in wonder, her voice no more than a whisper.

Bill Jukes shrugged. "They threw me in the brig after, of course, and eventually my wounds mended." he coughed uncomfortably. "I still have the scars though. Wanna see them?" Although the memory was still painful to him, he was obviously very proud of his lingering souvenirs.

"Maybe tomorrow. Somehow I don't think the captain would like you taking your shirt of in front of me." Anne smiled to herself. Hook had propositioned her, and now given her his best guard. He was getting a little possessive and Anne couldn't afford to be blind to it. It was a good sign, at least as an indication for the way she would be treated; she could have been assigned to one of the crew members who seemed to enjoy torturing other people, like Cecco. She'd been watching him as well, although out of the corner of her eye. Every time a branch got in his way he'd give a savage growl and tear the limb apart. He seemed to enjoy the violence and had taken to wandering on the outskirts of the company, purposely taking the more overgrown patches. The only thing that kept Anne from every outburst was the double distraction of ogling Hook and carrying on a conversation with Jukes. Obviously, Hook wanted her intact and whole, at least for now, though for what purpose, she could only guess. She decided not worry, as there was a definite possibility that she might be completely unharmed by the end of the ordeal so long as she appeared to cooperate. On that light note, Anne put away any more scheming and uneasiness that hadn't been quelled by ogling the tall dark-haired man in front of her, and reflected that she genuinely liked Bill Jukes, and although neither of them knew it, they already had more in common than either would have thought. She asked him questions about piracy and life on a ship the rest of the trek.

Once they were in the longboats Anne quit asking questions to let the Bill and the others row. It was not a long ride and soon they were alongside the Jolly Roger and Anne had come to a sudden realization; to board the ship she would need to climb up the steps that had been built into the outer hull like a ladder. A trifle for the all-male crew, but when one was wearing a long skirt, especially in a breeze (the air had become much more open once the group had broken through the tree line and made their way down to the beach), one saw things a little bit differently. Naturally, none of the crew had realized this problem yet, and as the captain began to climb up the hull to board, he turned around and gallantly held out a hand to help her up.

Gallant… or shrewd; Hook was not letting her out of his immediate area for one second. As a safety precaution the Jolly Roger always anchored in waters too deep for sirens, sharks, or mermaids. However, this made the immediate waters perfectly safe for Anne to jump ship and swim away. He didn't trust her any further than he guessed she could spit, despite her seemingly willing acquiescence to stay on the ship.

Anne smiled nervously and shook her head. When the captain gave her a questioning look she pointedly gave a little tug on her attire and nodded meaningfully towards the rest of the crew to drop the hint. He smiled and nimbly climbed back into the longboat, giving orders for the rest of the crew to go on ahead. Anne silently cursed the wiley captain. As the crew passed by one by one, she felt her discomfort climb with them. She wasn't such a prude as to be worried by Hook looking up her skirt (she *was* wearing underclothes after all), she wasn't even sure he'd permit himself to look, but she disliked the perceived vulnerability and he was looking much to smug about it; at that point she'd prefer *anyone* to follow her other than him. She decided to play on his ego. Better to give him the wrong idea than let him later imply she was beholden in some way for him safeguarding her honor, or some such nonsense. Dealing with Captain Hook was like dealing with the mob; one had to make sure they didn't perceive themselves as rendering any favors or else one would fall into debt quicker than the snap of a crocodile's jaws.

She turned to him and batted her big hazel eyes coquettishly while threading an arm through the crook of his elbow. "Captain, would you mind going ahead of me, I'd much rather you went first so you could help me up with these big strong arms." Here she wrapped her free hand around his bicep and gave it a gentle squeeze. She could feel the muscle underneath the layers of fabric and found she didn't mind the ruse so much. It was a very awkward one and not in any way sophisticated, but Hook hadn't been seduced by a woman for so long, she could have given him that look and said anything that he would have completely fallen for the trap. Anne saw his eyes darken as he looked at her…The tension in the air was cut with the all the subtlety of a record being pulled off its track by Smee, who by this point was the only other remaining person in the longboat. "You go ahead captain, I'll watch over the little lady and help her up from down here."

'God bless Smee!' was all Anne could think of when Hook turned away to regard the bo'sun. She'd been trapped in his stare just as surely as if he'd pinned her up against the side of the ship; she'd have to be more careful when dealing with the captain. Also he'd saved her from thinking up a real reason for the captain to go up first. Hook couldn't find a good excuse to argue the point, so he obligingly climbed up the ship before her and offered her his 'strong arms' to help her down from the railing. He held on to her a bit longer than necessary, but was otherwise the perfect gentleman, though he still had that look in his eyes. She just hoped it'd simmer by the time dinner was over, otherwise she'd be in trouble with no Smee to interrupt.

The crew were given their orders and dismissed. Most were just given permission to laze about, as the day had been very productive and the captain would be busy working on getting information out of the new 'captive'. Smee went into the kitchen to make dinner while Hook steered Anne around the ship, giving her the grand tour and making a pointed stop at the brig, where Jack decided to introduce himself.

"Meow."

"You have a cat on board?" Anne asked. She had him pegged as more of a dog person, if he was the type that liked animals at all.

"Naturally; any ship worth its ballast has a resident a mouser. Jack earns his keep by keeping the rats and mice from eating our stores." Hook didn't bother to add how much of a holler Smee would have raised if Hook had thrown the feline overboard after he woke one morning to find his best coat covered in cat hair. Smee loved that cat.

"Jack, come here boy, come here!" Anne quietly coaxed. Finally a huge and very well fed tom came out from under the bench/bed hanging off the wall. Anne laughed.

"Calico Jack!" she looked at the captain as the joke sank in. "But I thought it wasn't possible for male cats to be calico?"

"According to Mendel, you would be right. As the calico trait is linked to the female sex allele, a cat cannot be calico unless it possess both X alleles, however, a calico can be male if it an additional Y allele." He paused when he noticed Anne had stopped petting the cat to gape at him. There was nobody on the ship who properly appreciated his encyclopedic knowledge of everything except youth. He wasn't sure if Anne was stupefied because of the jargon, or because she was amazed at the breadth of his intellect, so he continued on, hoping it was the latter. "Normally, an individual has only two sex genes, either XX or XY. To have three sex alleles, there is usually some rare form of genetic mutation, creating a series of anomalies within that individual. Therefore male calicos suffer from a variety of anomalies, making them very rare and also very sick…" his lecture died off when Anne's expression changed from delighted surprise to great concern.

"However, in Neverland anything is possible. Jack is calico, but he is also the picture of health." the captain reassured the worried girl.

Anne felt better knowing the cat was alright (in fact he was obviously much better than 'alright') and return to gaping openly at Hook, completely dumbfound. She wouldn't have figured a 17th century pirate would know so much about genetics and biology (*she* barely knew the basics), but then again, Hook was no ordinary pirate. She recovered herself by cooing over the fat tom that was now purring around her ankles. Apparently, the affection was mutual.

Hook noted the fact. "Perhaps we should call you Anne Bonny." he joked.

Anne laughed again. "I think that would be perfect!"

Hook tried to not let his immense frustration show when he realized that he'd just given her an out for ever having to properly identify herself, which she'd promptly seized. He was not one to idly lose the upper hand, but he'd just done so to this… girl. But was she really so young? He began to wonder. She certainly seemed to know far more about the world than one would think just looking at her. But then again, as Hook remembered more about women, ladies were masters of appearances and perception; Hook was going to have a difficult time getting any information out of her, and he just knew that Pan related information was going to be the most difficult to acquire. He decided then and there that if she was going to play hardball, he would not hesitate to do the same.

After the captain had managed to pry the cat away from Anne (which turned out to be much more difficult than either of them would have guessed), he showed her the crew's quarters and the galley before ending the tour in the captain's cabin, where Smee was just finishing laying out the table. For two.


	3. Chapter 3

***** Chapter 3 Dinner and a cozy bed?

Author's Note: Here is the eagerly anticipated chapter 3. Chapter 4 is already half finished, so further updates should be coming shortly. Please note I have re-edited the previous chapters to wipe Anne's memory, so you may wish to reread them and perhaps refresh your own as it has been so long since I last updated (sorry!).

After he had escorted Anne to her chair, Hook began a conversational interrogation while handing her a basket of biscuits, fresh from the ship's oven. "Would you care for a biscuit, Miss Bonny?" for now he'd let the pseudonym lie; he could get her real name later.

"Yes, thank you." Anne smiled a little at the inside joke and nibbled on a corner of the biscuit. "You were right, this is definitely the best biscuit I've ever had." she said before downing the rest. She gulped and realized that as good as the pastry was, it left one's mouth feeling quite dry. Having been a regular connoisseur of Smee's cooking, Hook anticipated this and had already filled her glass with some grog. Anne took a swig before choking on the strong drink. The captain looked at her with mild concern. "The grog takes a bit of getting used to, but after a couple of weeks, you'll find it's quite good." he assured her.

"A couple of weeks?" Anne almost fell out of her chair.

"There's no cause for alarm; if you do not wish to leave until next month, we will of course be glad to extend your stay."

"But you only said one night!" she was starting to get a little hysterical.

"I said you would have a comfortable place to sleep tonight, if you wished it." he calmly reminded her. "I mentioned nothing about the length of your stay."

Anne slightly blushed at the reminder of Hook's offer, however she was much more upset with herself for having fallen for the now obvious trap. Deciding that he had gained too much of an advantage over her, Anne knew she'd have to play along until she could find a loophole in his manipulations. She remained quiet through the clam chowder. The captain let her have silence to further allow her situation to sink in. He figured enough time had passed once the rice pudding had been served for her to be sufficiently broken enough to start giving up information. He started with some easy questions. Well, what he had thought were easy questions.

"Where do you come from?"

Anne suddenly became even more uncomfortable. Now that she tried to think of her life before waking up in the field, she realized that she couldn't remember a single thing about it. She'd been so enthralled with exploring the woods that she'd never questioned how she came to be there or how to get back home, wherever that was.

Anne looked over her clothes in hopes of finding some sort of clue about her life, but she was only wearing a grey blouse and a matching long skirt. She might as well have been a ghost of the wood. The captain looked at her so fixedly when she didn't have an immediate response Anne knew there was nothing she could say that would satisfy him now, unless she admitted to some big secret that must be related to Peter Pan. Still, she had to at least try to cooperate a little.

"Over the hills and far away?"

Hook let that one slide for now, putting it on the top of his list of questions for when he tried questioning her again, though next time, he promised himself, it would be under more compelling circumstances.

"How old are you?"

He was used to being blunt with his men, and it was a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since he'd first seen her. At first he'd guessed her to be in her late teens or early twenties, but having seen how she handled her new situation, she might have been much older, or else, had had a lot of life experience very early in her life. Like himself, she seemed quite ageless; she could have been any number of years old above 16.

"Why? Are you concerned about the length of the sentence you'd be serving if you were caught kidnapping me?"

Hook chuckled self assuredly. "I'm not concerned."

"No?" Anne had a slightly perplexed look on her face that the captain found pleasing, so he indulged her with a simple explanation.

"I've never been caught." she gave him a knowing look, not quite believing his bluff. "Nothing that I've ever been found legally guilty for, anyways." he shifted slightly in his chair a little guiltily. He hated having his honor questioned, even though he was a notorious pirate. At least he was the best in the industry.

"Are you quite sure of that?" Anne couldn't help pressing her dinner companion. It felt good to make him squirm, especially after she'd been cornered. "It's rather common knowledge that you and your crew are pirates-"

"Privateers, my dear. We are official privateers of King Charles II."

"Not that I doubt your word captain, but the rumors are so prevalent, do you have any proof?" Now Hook really was feeling uncomfortable.

"We have a letter of Marque and Reprisal, signed by the king himself."

"Can I see this document?" she was intrigued with the idea of seeing a real 17thy century document signed by a king. Also, she really did want to believe that they were privateers; they would be required to follow certain laws and regulations. If she could ascertain they were following at least some sort of code, she'd feel a little less panicked. Except for the fact that Hook had a tendency to twist every situation to suit his needs.

Unfortunately she had pushed his indulgence a little too far. "I believe you are the one under interrogation here, Miss Bonny, not me. You still have not identified your age," Hook managed to recover the situation. Somehow she had turned the tables on him. He would have to be more forceful in his questioning so as not to give her any room for misdirection. "How. Old. Are. You?" he said it quietly yet in a simple, cheerful way that a more seasoned interviewee would have recognized as being the last chance. Any further insubordination was Russian roulette with the inverse bullet ratio.

"Why? It's only a number."

Click. Anne had no idea how lucky she'd been; he gave her one last chance. "Then why not?"

"It's hardly a proper question for a lady."

He actually laughed. A deep, amused laugh that at a different time would have made the captain remarkably attractive. Now however it made Anne want to curl up in a fetal position in horror. Realizing his patience was gone, he got to the point. If she told him directly and honestly about Pan, he would not hold her culpable for her earlier responses.

"Where is Peter Pan?"

Oh shit.

Anne could tell from the dead calm and seriousness of his voice he was expecting a profitable answer. Of course she knew no more about Pan's hideout than anyone else. "All I know is that he has a secret underground fort somewhere on the island, and that the only way of accessing it is sliding down one of several hollowed out trees."

"And those tress are…?"

"A handful out of a few thousand? Poplar trees? Truly, I don't know any more than you do." She was starting to get worried that this might be the end of the VIP treatment.

Hook gave her a stern look. He obviously didn't believe her, and was not impressed by her reply. Thinking it better to end the discussion before he actually lost his temper and all hopes of any forthcoming resemblance of cooperation from her, he rang a bell for Smee to come in and take away the empty dishes. The bosun' came through the door almost immediately. He must have been waiting just outside on deck. The frustrated captain took advantage of his trusty second's presence to introduce another topic. Perhaps he could still unsettle her enough to spill the beans.

"We still have not fully decided where you will be sleeping tonight, Miss Bonny. Smee here could make up a comfortable bed for you in the crew's quarters if there is enough room."

"With respect, Captain, I think Miss Anne would be more comfortable away from the crew," he dropped his voice conspiratorially to her as he picked up her dessert tray "we do snore so. It takes days for the new recruits to get tired enough to sleep though all the clamor, even with him working them to the bone." he gestured over her shoulder to the captain.

Hook selectively ignored the bosun's insubordination to avoid getting off track yet again.

"I suppose the brig will have to do, unless of course you think you might prefer my quarters now that you have seen your options." He did his best to look put out about the sleeping situation still faintly hoping somewhere deep inside that he might change her mind.

"I think having my own personal space to sleep is an excellent idea, even if it is in a cell. So long as I have enough blankets and a pillow, I can make myself comfortable just about anywhere…" Anne trailed off as she realized she didn't have any extra clothes to sleep in, or how she knew what she just said. Maybe she could remember something of her life before Neverland.

"What is the matter?" Hook asked a little abruptly.

"I, uh… do you have a spare shirt I might borrow for tonight?" She didn't mind roughing it, but didn't see the point of making herself uncomfortable when someone of Hook's attention to dress guaranteed she would be able to find something clean to wear to bed. Anne looked down at her own attire and brushed some of the dirtier patches to make her point. She had been tramping about the woods all day and hadn't exactly been prepared for her journey to Neverland. Or at least, she didn't remember preparing for it.

The captain seemed confused for a moment, then an all too pleasant smile spread across his face when he remembered that he still had a few choice nightdresses from previous overnight 'guests' that he'd kept stored away for just such an occasion.

"I think I have might have something suitable for you to wear." he started to rise from his chair to get the negligees, but Smee in his bumbling loyalty managed to beat him to it. He'd already gone over to the Hook's closet and pulled out a freshly starched white shirt before the captain could get up to retrieve the revealing nightclothes.

"Here we are, Miss." Smee handed her the frilly shirt. "If you find the lace uncomfortable in the night you can just take out the thread that connects it to the collar and sleeves. I can sew it back on in the morning," he added with a smile, and went about cleaning up the rest of the dinner service.

"Uh, thank you, Smee." Anne wasn't used to the bosun's readiness to serve. Then she remembered just who's cabin she was in and supposed he was used to having to obey commands in a heartbeat. Even more surprising to her was Smee's thoughtfulness. He wasn't the intelligent type, but he knew about the importance of the little things. It was easy to see why Hook kept him around.

The blithe bosun' merrily chattered on at Anne's unknowing encouragement. "If you like I can ar-"

Hook slammed his fist on the table. He just couldn't take any more insubordination; for perhaps the dozenth time that day his totalitarian rule had been usurped by a mere wisp of a girl, or woman or whatever she was, and now she was contaminating his crew. This was his ship, his dinner, and his interview. He would not be overrun again, especially by his own bosun'.

"OUT!" he yelled at the unsuspecting Irishman. When Anne looked to where Smee had previously been standing, there was nothing but air and heard the cabin door being shut. Hook certainly did have a way with his crew. Especially when he was angry.

And he was very angry. He'd expected to have information about Pan offered to him rather than having to work for it. Luckily he was rational even when irate. He managed to have the good sense to leave the interview on a positive note so that he might try a nice yet more compelling approach later. So instead of throwing Anne out as he had his bosun', he calmly asked her forgiveness for his outburst and offered to escort her to her 'room' for the night.

"Thank you, but I think I can manage."

"Are you certain? There are no candles lit outside of this cabin so late in the evening."

The thought cheered Anne up in a way she would not have expected. "I happen to like walking around in the dark, and I have excellent night vision. The tour you gave me was most instructive so I shouldn't have any problems."

By now they were both standing next to the table in an awkward silence. Finally Anne gathered up her courage, looked Hook directly in the eye and wished him a quick 'good night' before making it out the door. Once on the other side she leaned heavily against it and in a flood of relief released the breath she had been holding.

There were no night lights out as the Hook had predicted, although there was plenty of moonlight. Even without the moon, Anne could tell she would have had plenty of light from the stars this far away from land, not that Neverland put out much light pollution. She looked back over the railing to the island, wondering for perhaps the thousandth time how she had come to be there. Or here. She drew her focus back to the ship. She had agreed to go to sleep for the night and didn't want to be found out wandering the decks alone by any of the crew, much less the captain. With little difficulty, Anne made her way below decks but had to slow down when she lost the moonlight. Instead, she drew up her mental map of the ship she had made durning her little 'tour' with the captain and navigated towards the faint sound of several buzz saws and the clicking noise a flashcard makes when stuck in the spokes of a bicycle. It wasn't hard to keep moving once she'd found the crew's quarters; he eardrums felt ready to explode. Smee hadn't been exaggerating when he mentioned the sheer volume of snoring produced by the crew. She kept going down the length of the galley situated just overhead and turned left when she felt a wall directly in front of her. Luckily the garage band noise died out once she got to the brig. Anne smiled to herself in the dark.

'Apparently **nobody** is that cruel, not even Hook.'

Feeling around for the bunk, she found a pillow with a blanket folded neatly over it that Smee had left for her and couldn't resist once more thanking whatever deities were listening for Smee. While changing into the borrowed shirt, Anne felt the little scab on the back of her shoulder. She put a hand on it protectively as she tried not to think about what would happen tomorrow if she couldn't come up with something that would placate the captain. At the moment she wasn't feeling terribly creative. But she was tired and consoled herself with the promise that her mind would be fresh in the morning. She could think of something then.

Anne laid down on the straw mattress and snuggled into the blanket and soft pillow. Unfortunately, in his thoughtfulness, Smee had grabbed a pillow from Hook's bed. Not the main one he used and would miss, but one of the decorative side ones that nonetheless still faintly had his smell on it. She heaved a disgusted sigh, but only managed to engulf her olfactory senses in his unique mixture of musk and cologne.

'Wonderful.' she thought to herself sarcastically. 'Just what I need to make myself relax and not think about possibly being executed by bloody pirates tomorrow.'

Still, it couldn't be helped. She rolled over hoping the other corner might be less odorous and tried not to scratch when the lace itched her neck and wrists with the movement. There was no way she was going to make more work for Smee by ripping out the lace when he was the only one aboard who cared about her comfort. Even with the itchy nightshirt and ominous pillow, she was asleep in minutes.

_Author's Note (again): Just to tease you guys, there is Chapter 3 ½ that will likely be posted the same time as Chapter 4. It's a dream sequence that Hook has that's basically a lemon with him and Anne. I'm publishing it sepeerately from the story for now to keep the teen rating so be sure to be on the look out for other stories under my name. If you want the lemon included in the story **please let me know** and I might repost it here. _


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